


Someone to Watch Over Me

by mapleclub22



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, but i guess its my take on how cheryl and toni get together, its not really an au, not really sure what this is yet tbh, tags and ratings will be updated later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28759827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mapleclub22/pseuds/mapleclub22
Summary: Cheryl Blossom was not a lesbian. She did not like girls and she especially did not like Toni Topaz, the tiny, pink haired gang mate to one hobo Jones. She didn’t think about her laugh, or her smile, or the way that she looked at Cheryl differently than everyone else, like she actually saw something human in her.
Relationships: Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

Cheryl Blossom was not a lesbian. She did not like girls and she especially did not like Toni Topaz, the tiny, pink haired gang mate to one hobo Jones. She didn’t think about her laugh, or her smile, or the way that she looked at Cheryl differently than everyone else, like she actually saw something human in her. Only two other people had ever looked at her that way. One had been cruelly ripped away from her by her mother, reduced to a simple issue of sexual deviance that had to be corrected. The other was dead. As far as Cheryl was concerned, Toni was dangerous. She was the one thing that could demolish the walls that Cheryl had oh so carefully put into place. The one misplaced beam that could send the whole structure tumbling down. And as long as she wanted to stay in her mother’s good graces, she knew Toni had to be avoided like the plague.

But god was it hard. 

Every time she went to bother the sad breakfast club, there she was. Her eyes followed Cheryl’s every move, bored deep into her soul, and made her hesitate for the first time in a long time. She actually felt regret with every candy-coated insult that spilled out of her mouth--directed of course at the core four who’d been in school with her from the start. The smile on Toni’s face would change to a small frown, but still, that small hint of understanding remained in her gaze. Those eyes--those stupidly beautiful brown eyes filled Cheryl with both shame and a gut-wrenching sadness. A deadly combination that slowly melded into anger.

“What are you looking at pixie freak?”

The question is asked with more malice than Cheryl intended. 

A small smile creeps onto Toni’s face, and she leans forward in her seat.

“Honestly, not much.”

It's a challenge. Cheryl kows it is. The rest of the table and the two Vixens behind her wait with bated breath, ready for Cheryl to rip her to shreds. Toni seems to be the only one who knows she won’t. 

“Not much?” Cheryl grins, “I’m still more than you could ever afford.” With a wink she leads her squad away to another corner of the cafeteria, smiling to herself as she hears Sweet Pea say something about Toni’s red cheeks. 

* * *

That moment marks the beginning of something that Cheryl had been trying so hard to fight. Toni takes it upon herself to sit next to her in their government class. The redhead does her best to ignore her, but Toni makes it almost impossible, cracking jokes under her breath that never fail to elicit a smile from Cheryl. 

They’re about two weeks into school, and Cheryl, much to her surprise, has still managed to go without saying more than a few words to Toni each week. But then Mr. Davis announces that he will be partnering them up for an assignment, and she knows that her good fortune is coming to an end. 

Mr. Davis pins up a sheet with the partners printed on it, and Cheryl elbows her way to the front of the pack to see just what she was dreading.

  
  


**_Cheryl Blossom_** **_-_** **_Antoinette Topaz_**

“Guess you’re stuck with me, Bombshell,” Toni grins.

* * *

The project seems simple enough. They’re to re-design a section of Riverdale, make a model of it, and write a short essay on the socio-economic benefits that their design would have on the town. They have until the end of the semester to complete it, but Cheryl is banking on doing it in just a few weekends. The less time she has to spend with Toni, the better. It’s bad enough that the serpent has her phone number now. 

Cheryl finishes tidying up her room, storing most of her personal belongings in drawers and under her bed. She wasn’t worried about Toni stealing, but she  _ was _ trying her hardest to avoid any sort of personal conversation that could be struck up during their work session. 

“Cheryl!” Her mother’s heinous screech echoes through the halls of Thistlehouse, “There’s a street urchin on my front door step spouting some nonsense about how you invited her over.”

“Oh, Mumsy,” Cheryl flounces out of her room and down the Thistlehouse steps, “Unfortunately it’s not nonsense. This little snake will be slithering her way to an A with me on our history project. Come Toni, we have a lot of work to do tonight.”

\-----

It takes a few tries but Toni finally gets Cheryl to take a break from working and have a decent conversation with her. It’s about Jason and Polly, a modern day Greek tragedy that brought her both a niece and a nephew. The look on Cheryl’s face as she talks about her twin is one that Toni has never seen on the redhead before. It’s soft and warm, and there’s a sadness in her eyes that makes Toni want to embrace her. 

“Have you ever loved somebody that much? That you’d be willing to give up everything for them? For even just a chance at a life with them?”

The question is asked with such sincereness that it catches Toni off guard. She thinks for a moment, “No. I don’t think I ever have. Have you?”

Cheryl’s gaze is distant, and tears pool at the corners of her eyes, “Yes. Once.”

Toni wants so badly to pry, to learn anything she can about the girl she’s been pining for. She knows there’s something that’s been weighing on Cheryl. A secret that Toni thinks could break her into a million little pieces. 

“She was beautiful Toni. The most beautiful person I knew. And I loved her more than I could even understand at the time.”

A tear slips down Cheryl’s cheek, and it effectively snaps her back to reality. She realizes what she just admitted to Toni and her chest starts to tighten. Her breathing becomes faster and ragged and she knows she’s just moments away from a full blown panic attack.

“You need to leave,” she gasps out. 

“Cheryl--”

“I said leave…. _ now _ !” 

“Okay,” Toni starts to gather up her books, “I’m going.”

“I swear to god Topaz, you say one word about this to anyone and I’ll make your life at Riverdale a living hell.”

“Cheryl,” Toni’s eyes are earnest, “I swear I would  _ never _ tell a soul without your consent.”

Cheryl watches her walk out, door swinging closed as her footsteps move down the hall. The redhead crawls under the sheets, tucking her knees to her chest as she cries. She wants so badly to trust Toni, but she’s been burned before. And now, she knows what the consequences of something like that getting out are.


	2. Chapter 2

Toni lays low for a while, opting to switch it up and sit at the front of the class instead of in the back next to Cheryl. She takes different routes to her classes, doing her best to avoid the HBIC. Luckily it works, and it’s about a week before she has any sort of contact with Cheryl again. Surprisingly it’s the Vixen that reaches out first, via text of course.

**_Bombshell: We need to finish this project_ **

**_Toni: We have like 15 more weeks of school. Why does this need to be done now?_ **

**_Bombshell: Because the sooner we finish the sooner we can be done with each other_ **

Toni has to admit, the other girl’s words sting. Even though she knows Cheryl is most likely lashing out in fear of being outed. 

**_Toni: Okay. We can meet at my place this time. Does today after school work for you?_ **

**_Bombshell: Today is fine_ **

**_Toni: You can stay the night if you want_ **

**_Bombshell: So you can try and corrupt me with your sapphic ways. No thank you_ **

Toni rolls her eyes at Cheryl’s jab, and decides it’s not worth answering. She tucks her phone back into her pocket, turning her focus back to her math teacher. 

* * *

Toni rests against the front of her motorcycle, picking at the skin around her nails as she waits for Cheryl to meet her. It takes about 15 minutes before she walks out the school doors, scanning the lot for Toni. The smaller girl waves her hands up in the air, effectively catching her attention, and Toni can’t help the way her breath catches as their eyes meet. Cheryl looks even more radiant than usual, and if Toni hadn’t been the one to suggest working today, she would have thought the redhead had dolled up just to make things harder on her. 

“Hello gremlin, is this my chariot for the night?” Cheryl looks at the bike with disgust. 

“Sorry princess, but unless you actually want to walk through the Southside to my trailer, I suggest you put this on.” 

Toni tosses a helmet at her, it’s all black save for the crudely painted hot-pink snake on the back. Cheryl reluctantly puts it on, hoping that the ride will be short enough to not mess up her hair. Toni climbs onto the bike and pats the empty space behind her. Cheryl takes her seat, snaking her arms around the serpent’s waist and trying to ignore the unsteady thumping of her heart. She’s surprised at how nice Toni smells. It’s a nice mix of coffee and peppermint with a slight undertone of weed that, oddly enough, works well for Cheryl. She finds herself pushing closer against Toni, if only to drink in more of her intoxicating scent. 

“Ready to go Princess Bombshell?”

Cheryl smiles at the name, “As long as you promise not to crash.”

Toni revs the engine and Cheryl has only a moment to rethink all the decisions that have led her to this point before they take off in the direction of the street. Her arms wrap tighter against the small girl's waist, and she worries that she may be crushing her, but she’s much too frightened to loosen her grip. She’s not sure if it’s just the wind in her ears but she can almost swear she hears Toni laughing. Cheryl closes her eyes, hoping her fear will subside if she can’t see the world rushing past them. It actually helps. Well that and Toni’s comforting scent that wafts up under her helmet. 

They come to a stop at what Cheryl thinks is a red light until the engine of the bike dies down. She opens her eyes just as Toni gives her hands a light squeeze. They’re parked in front of a small trailer that’s in desperate need of a paint job and a new window. There’s a tiered, wooden plant stand by the front door that looks homemade. As Cheryl moves closer, she notices there’s little tick marks on the legs of the stand, all with dates scribbled next to them in Sharpie. 

“You garden?” 

Toni ignores the question, busy pushing her bike closer to the trailer. Cheryl knows she was loud enough to be heard, but decides to let it go for now. Once Toni has finished moving the bike to a more satisfactory spot she leads Cheryl inside the trailer. The front door opens into a small kitchen where an older man is reading a book at a two-person table. 

“Grandpa, this is Cheryl. We’ll be working on a school project in my room tonight.”

The man nods, offering Cheryl a small smile before turning back to his novel. 

“My room is just through that door at the end. You can go make yourself comfortable while I get some snacks and drinks ready.”

Cheryl closes the bedroom door behind her, partly because she wants to offer Toni and her grandfather a bit of privacy, and partly because she wants a chance to snoop. The first thing she notices are the books. They’re everywhere. Stacked in corners, on the desk and chair, as well as piled next to Toni’s bed. They seem to mainly be true crime novels, with the occasional murder mystery thrown in. Cheryl can tell which ones are Toni’s favorites. They tend to be at the tops of the piles, and their spines are deeply cracked from multiple read throughs. Cheryl turns to place her bag down and ends up knocking over a small stack of books at the foot of the bed. 

“Shit.”

She starts to stack them up again when she notices another book under Toni’s bed. It’s bound in dark green leather, and stamped on the spine in fancy gold lettering is Toni’s last name.

“Well, well, well, whatever do we have here?” Cheryl whispers to herself.

She pulls the book out, fingers skimming over the shimmering letters on the cover. 

**_Catalogue of the Flora of Riverdale County_ **

She opens to the first page, blank save for a handwritten note in the bottom right corner.

_ Toni, _

_ Happy Birthday kiddo. I can’t believe you’re turning 12 already. This book may be a bit boring to you now, but I hope in the future you can look at it and smile, knowing that this was the point at which everything changed for the better. I love you so much, and I am so incredibly proud of you. _

_ -Dad _

Cheryl closes the book, a sick feeling coming over her. She knows Toni’s parents aren’t in the picture but she doesn’t know the how or the why. Reading that note felt almost like reading a diary entry. Something so private and personal that she wishes she had never even pulled the book out. She pushes it back under the bed just as she hears Toni’s footsteps approaching.

“Cheryl, do you mind opening the door for me?”

The redhead scrambles to her feet and lets Toni in. She’s carrying a tray with two tall glasses of lemonade, some cookies, some chips, and a plate of various fruits. Cheryl quickly clears a space for the tray on Toni’s desk, and the serpent sends her an appreciative smile as she places it down. 

“So…” Toni turns to Cheryl, “Did I give you enough time to snoop?”

Toni bites back a laugh as she watches Cheryl’s face turn as red as her hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really bad at sticking to a schedule so sorry in advance to all of you who bookmarked. I'll try to update frequently but no promises.


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